Stephen Collins Played Pedophile Priest In Short Film 'Penance' Months Before Own Molestation Claims Came To Light

Talk about life imitating art. It seems that in the midst of all the Stephen Collins reports and child molestation allegation some pretty interesting news has just come to light about a project that he was working on. The 7^th Heaven star was involved with a short indie film called Penance, where he played a pedophile priest.

The film made its debut during the Catalina Film Festival at the end of September, which just so happened to be a few days before the actor found himself at the center of his own pedophile investigation.

E! News is reporting on the story, saying that the films website says the short is focused around two men who are intertwined in a story about forgiveness.

The website for the 11-minute production states it's about, "one man's journey of forgiveness. David Lyons [Safe Haven] plays Thomas Walker, a man hounded by personal demons and inner turmoil who has lived long enough with the scars of his past. Stephen Collins [7^th Heaven, Blood Diamond] is the Priest he visits to clear his conscience and discover exactly what it means to find forgiveness... or to give it."

People Magazine is also confirming the news, saying that the director of the film Jeff Wolfe reacted out to them to state that the project was done in 2013 before the allegations made their way to the spotlight.

"When I cast Stephen Collins, I had no idea there might be a connection between his real life and the part I asked him to play," the director stated. "I found the recent allegations particularly shocking, as my film is meant to peak to victims of abuse and the idea that the effects of abuse never really go away."

The short film will be making its way through different film festivals in the US for the rest of the year.